Dog team racing and poker.

Welcome to the Yukon.

The Reach for the Sky and Take the Beer poker run and the First Mate Freight Pull are set to go this Sunday, with the poker run beginning at 10 a.m. and the freight pull at noon.

The poker run, sponsored by Air North, Yukon Brewing and Hot Hounds, has a first prize of $450 cash and $100 in Air North flight certificates. The second and third place finishers will win $350 each, a portion of which is in flight certificates.

Not bad for a free-entry event.

Organizer Jon Lucus said the reason for the free entry is simple.

The first year he decided to organize the event the Yukon Lottery Commission caught wind of the stakes and informed him that he'd need a gambling license, which can take a couple weeks to get, Lucus said.

He found this out days before the event.

So he decided to call the Law Line, which advised him to cut out the entry fee.

"Then, no one is placing a stake,” Lucus said. "Basically, it's not gambling, because no one is placing a bet.

"They say it's a game of chance at cards and you're paying a stake, which is your entry fee, and there's a cash prize. It doesn't matter what skill is required to go through 22 miles of overflow hills and forest with dogs, the actual result of winning the money is due to the chance of the cards.”

Racers/players will meet at Icy Waters Ltd. to hit the trail, which starts with a nine-mile climb up and across Jackson Lake and then on through Sunshine Valley, Sky High Wilderness Ranch and Mount McIntyre shoulder, stopping at each of the checkpoints to receive a playing card.

At the end of the run, the best poker hand wins.

"It's not a case of whoever comes first, it's a case of completing the course and getting the best cards,” Lucus said.

As of Friday morning, 18 mushers, including Yukon Quest musher Hugh Neff, signed on. The event's limit is 30.

"And the only reason we put a limit on it is because I have to buy the playing cards and then crimp each one to make sure no one brings their own cards,” Lucus laughed.

The freight pull will offer three categories – lightweights (0-59 lbs), mediums (60-99 lbs) and heavies (100-plus lbs) – in which one dog will start by pulling a freight sled, approx. 120 lbs., 16 feet toward their owners at the finish.

After each round the dogs must pull heavier loads, which increase by 40-80 lbs each time, Lucus explained. First place will win three bags of dog food, second will win two bags and third will win one.

Added Lucus: "It's not a competition, you see. It's just a relaxing, fun day; you just have to complete the course.”